Totally different huge counties — like Tarrant, Dallas and El Paso County — solely had one drop-off location already in place.
The Republican governor talked about in an announcement the order was made to spice up ballot security. It moreover permits poll watchers to have a look at the in-person provide of mail-in ballots by voters, nonetheless critics say it could severely limit entry for lots of voters.
“The State of Texas has an obligation to voters to care for the integrity of our elections,” Abbott talked about. “As we work to guard Texans’ capability to vote all through the COVID-19 pandemic, we should always take additional care to strengthen ballot security protocols all by the state. These enhanced security protocols will assure higher transparency and might help stop makes an try at illegal voting.”
The selection has already drawn hearth from Texas Democrats. The state’s Democratic event chair, Gilberto Hinojosa, labeled it a “blatant voter suppression tactic” in a press launch. The group Let America Vote moreover blasted the switch.
“The governor is making it extra sturdy for people to vote within the midst of a worldwide pandemic that has claimed the lives of over 16,000 Texans,” the group talked about in an announcement. “It is a shameful, blatant act of voter suppression which will disproportionately have an effect on the wide selection of Black and Latinx voters in Texas’ best counties.”
In July, Abbott issued an order growing the time period for early voting by six days and for hand-delivering mail-in ballots out of safety concerns on account of pandemic.
It’s a breaking story and shall be updated.
